The Other Way Around
by PhoenixNinja101
Summary: "The shadow cannot exist without the light...", or so they say.


**Me: Please follow me on Twitter for updates. I am also known as _PhoenixNinja101_. Thank you!**

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**Normal POV!**

Aomine has always been tactless —because he's a basketball idiot. Never once did he ever think about his actions, or words, but that didn't mean he was _inconsiderate_.

Sure, he may do or say something out of line, something that'll offend you in a way, but he has his boundaries —he knows not to go too far.

Yet...

"—Passes? To who?"

This... this—

"I... don't even know how to receive your passes anymore."

This is just going overboard! The words hurt, and the unspoken 'I don't need you' hidden in between the lines spoken by his best friend —his partner stung, and Kuroko was NOT going to let this one slide. Nope, nuh-uh, out of bounds. He will NOT let this —this _fool_ trample all over his hardwork, his efforts to catch up, any longer.

A frown made its way into the teal-haired boy's usually blank face, the taller of the two being too occupied with his own thoughts to notice. He clenched his fists, taking deep, steady breaths to calm his boiling rage.

"That's where you're wrong, Aomine-kun." Kuroko muttered lowly, yet loud enough for the tanned male to hear.

And Aomine, having been with him even before the teal-eyed boy joined the basketball club, noticed the sudden change in demeanor immediately.

"Tetsu?" his partner's name came out questioning with a hint of concern upon noticing the slight quivering of the other's shoulders from his hunched form, soaking wet clothes clung to him as the air blew against his skin, his hand clutched tightly at his side as it shook along with his entire body.

His breath hitched, however, when he saw the look Tetsu was displaying in front of him. Body drenched from the rain, his small figure was visibly shaking from the cold (_—or anger_), but the expression being thrown his way was firm, demanding his full attention. And if you look closely, you'd see some tears that formed at the corners of his eye—

Eyes widening in surprise, only now did Aomine realize the hidden meaning and implication behind his words, and he cursed himself inwardly, regretting it as soon as he realized his mistake and was ready to apologize dogeza style but Kuroko wasn't done.

"Aomine-kun." said teen shuddered unnoticeably at the way the other spoke his name, unknowingly flashing a guilty expression his way. Kuroko's expression hardened, looking at the blue-haired teen dead in the eye as he spoke. "Before I entered the 1st string, before you found me in the 4th gym, you were Aomine Daiki."

Aomine raised his brows in surprise, not exactly sure where this was heading but wisely chose to remain silent, seeing the somber look Kuroko was directing him. He was shivering. Maybe it was from the cold, or maybe it was because he was struggling to keep his composure, but Aomine wasn't sure.

"You were a prodigy; the guy makes formless shots, the guy that's hard to beat, the guy who's good at basketball and loves it –the guy named Aomine." the said bluenette shifted uneasily under Kuroko's heavy gaze, trying to absorb the words coming out of his shadow's mouth, and just when he was wondering why Tetsu was telling him all this, the shorter teen closed his eyes as if not wanting to see his face, his brows furrowing into a slightly deeper frown.

"Not light, just Aomine." he said finally, opening his eyes and daring to look at Aomine while the tanned player could only freeze in his spot when he realized just what Tetsu was trying to say.

"You were just Aomine-kun." he breathed out, yet again. "You were no light, because you had no shadow. You were no light, because I wasn't there. I did not become a shadow because of Aomine-kun, Aomine-kun became a light because of me. Without me, Aomine-kun is just Aomine-kun..." his voice wavered in the end, unable to keep his composure any longer. Kuroko kept his eyes on the ground –he... had said all that as if he was only trying to reassure himself that _no, Aomine-kun is wrong, they still need you and you are still useful to the team_.

Aomine stayed silent, feeling the weight of the tealnette's words, really unsure of what to do or say because Tetsu was right. Tetsu didn't become a shadow for him, Aomine became a light because Tetsu _chose_ him, not the other way around.

Aomine mentally winced, as if feeling the sting Tetsu must've felt earlier. Taking careful steps to approach the teen before him in an attempt to comfort him and maybe even apologize, the said teen whispered something under his breath, completely catching Aomine off guard.

"_... so don't you ever tell me you don't need me anymore_."

A choked sob, and he broke down just like that, not caring about the rain, the cold wind blowing harshly against him, or the dumbstruck look Aomine was displaying because he was just too tired to _care_.

And Aomine could only stare wide-eyed as Kuroko dropped all of his guard down in front of him. His partner, who was usually so stoic that you had to look closer to make sure he wasn't a robot, was _crying. _Never had Aomine ever felt like a douchebag in his entire life. Tetsu... stoic, emotionless Tetsu was bawling in front of him, crying his eyes out because Aomine had basically left him in the dust after supporting him all this time. And Aomine had never felt so bad since he made Satsuki cry when they were eight.

From that day on, under the bridge beneath the gray skies, Aomine Daiki swore to never take anything for granted ever again. The crying face of his shadow burned deeply into his memory, and he decided that he never wanted to see his partner make that face again.

**~•~**

**OMAKE:**

Unsurprisingly, Kuroko caught a cold the next day and was forced to sleep in the infirmary by Akashi after Momoi had checked his temperature. While the rest of the first string members hovered around the phantom, Aomine only hovered from behind, feeling undeserved to get close to his shadow. Being preoccupied with his thoughts and their fallen teammate, no one noticed how Akashi's eye seemed to flicker back to its original red. Needless to say, Kuroko was sent home by his teammates' insistence.

Two days after, Kuroko returned to school when his fever had died down. After receiving a small lecture about his health by Midorima, who insisted that he was _not_ worried, the team proceeded with their practice match against an unnamed school no one seems to care about.

During all this, Aomine could only look at Kuroko with varying degrees of worry from time to time while Kise would look at him weirdly. Despite Aomine's promise to himself after what happened under the bridge a few days ago, he still hadn't apologized to the phantom player at all. What with his sudden collapse and fever, Aomine really didn't have the chance to. Nevertheless, Akashi seemed to know what had transpired between him and the phantom, if his knowing looks were anything to go by.

Shaking those thoughts away, Aomine decided to focus on the game for now. If he wanted Kuroko to forgive him, he should start by taking matches seriously again. However, as soon as he stepped on the court, Aomine felt something off. His suspicions were confirmed much later during the game, and he couldn't stop the sudden spike of anger that rose within as he swiveled around to face his partner in court.

"Oi, Tetsu!" he growled, startling Kise who had been a few feet away from him as he approached Kuroko, ignoring the disapproving looks Akashi was sending him for interrupting the game. "Why aren't you giving me any passes?" Aomine scowled.

The gym seemed to have fallen silent after Aomine's declaration, only now realizing that the tanned teen hadn't been receiving any passes from the phantom player. Realization seemed to dawn on Midorima, and Murasakibara had stopped chewing from the bench as he stared at the tealnette. Even Akashi, who had been staring at his clipboard from time to time had shifted his full attention to the commotion on the court with a curious expression as Momoi gasped from beside him. Meanwhile, Kise remained clueless and shocked at the same time as he gazed disbelievingly at the short teen.

Kuroko, half-aware of the shocked and questioning glances his team were directing him, only shrugged as he raised an eyebrow towards the tanned teen. "Aomine-kun said he couldn't remember how to receive my passes anymore. Even though this is only a practice match, it would be bad for Teikou if their Ace starts fumbling and lost the ball." ignoring the mildly disturbing look on Aomine's face (one of pain and shame), Kuroko continued. "Kise-kun should be my light for now."

Aomine's eye twitched in irritation at Kise's thunderstruck expression followed by a surprised and hopeful squeak of, '_m-me_?'.

"Hai." Kuroko replied as Kise proceeded to cheer silently in the background. "We can't afford to lose this match just because Aomine-kun forgot how to catch a ball."

By then, Kise was practically laughing at Aomine now as he gloated for being Kuroko's temporary light. Midorima was adjusting his glasses carefully, but Aomine just knew he was only doing that to hide his laughter. He didn't know what to feel with Murasakibara's sudden respect for Kuroko reflecting in his eyes, but he couldn't be more annoyed of Akashi's amused expression as if to say, 'you brought that onto yourself.'.

Ignoring the scathing looks Momoi was sending him and the impending talk he knew Momoi would have with him later, Aomine huffed as he went back to his position for the game to resume.

Meanwhile, Kuroko internally smiled to himself, knowing that at this point on, everything was going to be okay.

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**Me: Eyy, looks like I finally finished this! Phew, it took a long time, but I'm proud I guess. Meh, ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ hope you enjoyed! Vote, favorite, and leave a kudos if you liked it. Also, don't forget to follow me, this is the one and only, _PhoenixNinja101_ signing out!**

**~~~CHAO!~~~**


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